Uplink control information sending method, uplink control information receiving method, apparatus, and system

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure relates to uplink control information sending methods, uplink control information receiving methods, apparatus, and systems. One example method includes receiving, by a terminal device, channel indication information from an access network device on a physical control channel, determining a channel resource set of N channel resource sets that matches a size of uplink control information (UCI) as a first channel resource set, determining a first channel resource from the first channel resource set according to the channel indication information, and sending the UCI to the access network device on the first channel resource.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/890,915, filed on Feb. 7, 2018, which is a continuation ofInternational Application No. PCT/CN2015/086763, filed on Aug. 12, 2015.All of the afore-mentioned patent applications are hereby incorporatedby reference in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present invention relate to the field ofcommunications technologies, and in particular, to an uplink controlinformation sending method, an uplink control information receivingmethod, an apparatus, and a system.

BACKGROUND

In a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, an access network device sendsdownlink data to a same terminal device on at least one of multiplecarriers. For downlink data on each carrier, the terminal deviceseparately performs acknowledgment and generates hybrid automatic repeatrequest-acknowledgment HARQ-ACK information. If acknowledgment succeeds,the terminal device returns acknowledgment information ACK. Ifacknowledgment fails, the terminal device returns negativeacknowledgment information NACK. The terminal device sends each piece ofacknowledgment information to the access network device on a same uplinkchannel. In addition, the access network device sends a reference signalto the terminal device on each carrier, so that the terminal devicedetects the reference signal on each carrier to obtain channel stateinformation (CSI) corresponding to each carrier.

In the prior art, the access network device indicates, by usingpreconfigured information, a subframe location (which is determined by asubframe offset for feeding back CSI and a period for feeding back theCSI) at which the terminal device feeds back periodic CSI and specificcontent of the periodic CSI fed back at each location for feeding backthe periodic CSI. Herein, the acknowledgment information and/or the CSIare all referred to as uplink control information (UCI). Therefore, UCIfed back by the terminal device to the access network device on theuplink channel in some subframes includes only acknowledgmentinformation or includes only periodic CSI information, while UCI fedback in some subframes includes both acknowledgment information and CSI.Because a quantity of bits of CSI fed back by the terminal device ineach subframe for feeding back the periodic CSI is not constant,quantities of bits of UCI fed back by the terminal device in differentsubframes are different. The access network device allocates multipleuplink channels to the terminal device in advance, and before theterminal device feeds back UCI, the access network device sends dynamicindication information to the terminal device. The dynamic indicationinformation specifies an uplink channel on which the terminal devicefeeds back the UCI.

As a quantity of uplink channels allocated by the access network deviceto the terminal device in advance increases continuously, a quantity ofbits of the dynamic indication information delivered by the accessnetwork device increases continuously, leading to relatively largeconsumption of downlink channel resources. In addition, a capacity ofthe uplink channel specified by the access network device for theterminal device by using the dynamic indication information does notmeet a size of the UCI. As a result, utilization of the uplink channelis relatively low or UCI bits are discarded.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present invention provide an uplink controlinformation sending method, an uplink control information receivingmethod, an apparatus, and a system, so as to reduce consumption ofdownlink channel resources, thereby increasing utilization of an uplinkchannel or preventing losses of UCI bits.

A first aspect provides an uplink control information sending method,including:

receiving, by a terminal device, channel indication information from anaccess network device on a physical control channel;

determining, by the terminal device, a channel resource set of N channelresource sets, where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2,the N channel resource sets are preconfigured by the access networkdevice for the terminal device, and each of the N channel resource setsincludes at least two channel resources;

determining, by the terminal device, a channel resource that is in thechannel resource set and that is indicated by the channel indicationinformation; and

sending, by the terminal device, uplink control information UCI to theaccess network device on the channel resource.

With reference to the first aspect, in a first possible implementationof the first aspect, before the determining, by the terminal device, achannel resource set of N channel resource sets, the method furtherincludes:

determining, by the terminal device, a type of the UCI; and

the determining, by the terminal device, a channel resource set of Nchannel resource sets includes: determining, by the terminal device, thechannel resource set that is of the N channel resource sets and thatmatches the type of the UCI.

With reference to the first possible implementation of the first aspect,in a second possible implementation of the first aspect, the type of theUCI includes a first type and a second type, and N=2, where

a first type of UCI includes CSI and HARQ-ACK information, and a channelresource included in one of the N channel resource sets is used to sendthe first type of UCI; and

a second type of UCI includes HARQ-ACK information but not CSI, and achannel resource included in the other of the N channel resource sets isused to send the second type of UCI.

With reference to the first aspect, in a third possible implementationof the first aspect, before the determining, by the terminal device, achannel resource set of N channel resource sets as a first channelresource set, the method further includes:

determining, by the terminal device, a size of the UCI; and

the determining, by the terminal device, a channel resource set of Nchannel resource sets as a first channel resource set includes:

determining, by the terminal device, the channel resource set that is ofthe N channel resource sets and that matches the size K of the UCI asthe first channel resource set.

With reference to the third possible implementation of the first aspect,in a fourth possible implementation of the first aspect, thedetermining, by the terminal device, the channel resource set that is ofthe N channel resource sets and that matches the size K of the UCI asthe first channel resource set includes:

determining, by the terminal device, a capacity range corresponding toeach of the N channel resource sets; and

determining, by the terminal device, a channel resource set of the Nchannel resource sets as the first channel resource set, so that thesize K of the UCI meets R_(min)≤K≤R_(max), where a capacity range of thechannel resource set is [R_(min), R_(max)], R_(min) is a minimum valueof a capacity of the channel resource set, and R_(max) is a maximumvalue of the capacity of the channel resource set.

With reference to any one of the first aspect or the first to the fourthpossible implementations of the first aspect, in a fifth possibleimplementation of the first aspect, quantities of channel resourcesincluded in the N channel resource sets are the same.

With reference to any one of the first aspect or the first to the fifthpossible implementations of the first aspect, in a sixth possibleimplementation of the first aspect, at least one of the N channelresource sets includes at least two channel resources having differentformats.

With reference to any one of the first aspect or the first to the fifthpossible implementations of the first aspect, in a seventh possibleimplementation of the first aspect, at least one of the N channelresource sets includes at least two channel resources having a sameformat but different channel capacities.

With reference to any one of the first aspect or the first to theseventh possible implementations of the first aspect, in an eighthpossible implementation of the first aspect, before the receiving, by aterminal device, channel indication information from an access networkdevice on a physical control channel, the method further includes:

receiving, by the terminal device, configuration information of the Nchannel resource sets from the access network device by using higherlayer signaling, where configuration information of the N channelresource sets corresponding to the different terminal devices isdifferent.

A second aspect provides an uplink control information receiving method,including:

sending, by an access network device, channel indication information toa terminal device on a physical control channel;

preconfiguring, by the access network device, N channel resource setsfor the terminal device, so that the terminal device determines achannel resource set of the N channel resource sets as a first channelresource set, and determines a channel resource that is in the firstchannel resource set and that is indicated by the channel indicationinformation, where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2,and each of the N channel resource sets includes at least two channelresources; and

receiving, by the access network device, UCI sent by the terminal deviceon the channel resource.

With reference to the second aspect, in a first possible implementationof the second aspect, quantities of channel resources included in the Nchannel resource sets are the same.

With reference to the second aspect, in a second possible implementationof the second aspect, at least one of the N channel resource setsincludes at least two channel resources having different formats.

With reference to the second aspect, in a third possible implementationof the second aspect, at least one of the N channel resource setsincludes at least two channel resources having a same format butdifferent channel capacities.

With reference to any one of the second aspect or the first to the thirdpossible implementations of the second aspect, in a fourth possibleimplementation of the second aspect, before the sending, by an accessnetwork device, channel indication information to a terminal device on aphysical control channel, the method further includes:

sending, by the access network device, configuration information of theN channel resource sets to the terminal device by using higher layersignaling, where configuration information of the N channel resourcesets corresponding to the different terminal devices is different.

A third aspect provides an uplink control information sending method,including:

receiving, by a terminal device, channel indication information from anaccess network device on a physical control channel;

determining, by the terminal device, a first channel resource of Nchannel resources according to the channel indication information, whereN is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2, and the N channelresources are preconfigured by the access network device for theterminal device;

increasing or decreasing, by the terminal device, the first channelresource to obtain a second channel resource; and

sending, by the terminal device, UCI to the access network device on thesecond channel resource.

With reference to the third aspect, in a first possible implementationof the third aspect, the N channel resources correspond to differentchannel capacities;

before the increasing or decreasing, by the terminal device, the firstchannel resource to obtain a second channel resource, the method furtherincludes: determining, by the terminal device, a size of the UCI; and

the increasing or decreasing, by the terminal device, the first channelresource to obtain a second channel resource includes:

if a channel capacity corresponding to the first channel resource isgreater than the size of the UCI, decreasing, by the terminal device,the first channel resource to obtain the second channel resource; or

if a channel capacity corresponding to the first channel resource isless than the size of the UCI, increasing, by the terminal device, thefirst channel resource to obtain the second channel resource.

With reference to the first possible implementation of the third aspect,in a second possible implementation of the third aspect, the decreasing,by the terminal device, the first channel resource to obtain the secondchannel resource includes:

decreasing, by the terminal device, the channel capacity of the firstchannel resource by k basic channel elements to obtain the secondchannel resource, so that the size R_(a) of the UCI meetsR_(b)−(k+1)R₀<R_(a)≤R_(b)−kR₀, where R_(b) indicates the channelcapacity of the first channel resource, and R₀ indicates a size of thebasic channel element.

With reference to the second possible implementation of the thirdaspect, in a third possible implementation of the third aspect, asubcarrier whose frequency is the highest in the k basic channelelements is adjacent to a subcarrier whose frequency is the lowest inthe first channel resource; or

a subcarrier whose frequency is the lowest in the k basic channelelements is adjacent to a subcarrier whose frequency is the highest inthe first channel resource.

With reference to the first possible implementation of the third aspect,in a fourth possible implementation of the third aspect, the increasing,by the terminal device, the first channel resource to obtain the secondchannel resource includes:

increasing, by the terminal device, the channel capacity of the firstchannel resource by k basic channel elements, so that the size R_(a) ofthe UCI meets R_(b)+(k−1)R₀<R_(a)≤R_(b)+kR₀, where R_(b) indicates thechannel capacity of the first channel resource, and R₀ indicates a sizeof the basic channel element.

With reference to the fourth possible implementation of the thirdaspect, in a fifth possible implementation of the third aspect, asubcarrier whose frequency is the highest in the k basic channelelements is adjacent to a subcarrier whose frequency is the lowest inthe first channel resource; or

a subcarrier whose frequency is the lowest in the k basic channelelements is adjacent to a subcarrier whose frequency is the highest inthe first channel resource.

With reference to any one of the third aspect or the first to the fifthpossible implementations of the third aspect, in a sixth possibleimplementation of the third aspect, the UCI includes at least one ofHARQ-ACK information of the terminal device for received downlink dataor CSI generated by the terminal device.

With reference to any one of the third aspect or the first to the sixthpossible implementations of the third aspect, in a seventh possibleimplementation of the third aspect, before the receiving, by a terminaldevice, channel indication information from an access network device ona physical control channel, the method further includes:

receiving, by the terminal device, configuration information of the Nchannel resources from the access network device by using higher layersignaling, where configuration information of the N channel resourcesets corresponding to the different terminal devices is different.

A fourth aspect provides an uplink control information receiving method,including:

sending, by an access network device, channel indication information toa terminal device on a physical control channel, so that the terminaldevice determines a first channel resource of N channel resourcesaccording to the channel indication information, and increases ordecreases the first channel resource to obtain a second channelresource, where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2, andthe N channel resources are preconfigured by the access network devicefor the terminal device; and

receiving, by the access network device, UCI sent by the terminal deviceon the second channel resource.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in a first possible implementationof the fourth aspect, the UCI includes at least one of HARQ-ACKinformation of the terminal device for received downlink data or CSIgenerated by the terminal device.

With reference to the fourth aspect or the first possible implementationof the fourth aspect, in a second possible implementation of the fourthaspect, before the sending, by an access network device, channelindication information to a terminal device on a physical controlchannel, the method further includes:

sending, by the access network device, configuration information of theN channel resources to the terminal device by using higher layersignaling, where configuration information of the N channel resourcesets corresponding to the different terminal devices is different.

A fifth aspect provides a terminal device, including:

a first receiving unit, configured to receive channel indicationinformation from an access network device on a physical control channel;

a first processing unit, configured to: determine a channel resource setof N channel resource sets as a first channel resource set, where N is apositive integer greater than or equal to 2, the N channel resource setsare preconfigured by the access network device for the terminal device,and each of the N channel resource sets includes at least two channelresources; and determine a channel resource that is in the first channelresource set and that is indicated by the channel indicationinformation; and

a first sending unit, configured to send UCI to the access networkdevice on the channel resource.

With reference to the fifth aspect, in a first possible implementationof the fifth aspect, the first processing unit is further configured todetermine a type of the UCI; and

the first processing unit is specifically configured to determine thechannel resource set that is of the N channel resource sets and thatmatches the type of the UCI as the first channel resource set.

With reference to the first possible implementation of the fifth aspect,in a second possible implementation of the fifth aspect, the type of theUCI includes a first type and a second type, and N=2, where

a first type of UCI includes CSI and HARQ-ACK information, and a channelresource included in one of the N channel resource sets is used to sendthe first type of UCI; and

a second type of UCI includes HARQ-ACK information but not CSI, and achannel resource included in the other of the N channel resource sets isused to send the second type of UCI.

With reference to the fifth aspect, in a third possible implementationof the fifth aspect, the first processing unit is further configured todetermine a size of the UCI; and

the first processing unit is specifically configured to determine thechannel resource set that is of the N channel resource sets and thatmatches the size K of the UCI as the first channel resource set.

With reference to the third possible implementation of the fifth aspect,in a fourth possible implementation of the fifth aspect, the firstprocessing unit is specifically configured to: determine a capacityrange corresponding to each of the N channel resource sets; anddetermine a channel resource set of the N channel resource sets as thefirst channel resource set, so that the size K of the UCI meetsR_(min)≤K≤R_(max), where a capacity range of the channel resource set is[R_(min), R_(max)], R_(min) is a minimum value of a capacity of thechannel resource set, and R_(max) is a maximum value of the capacity ofthe channel resource set.

With reference to any one of the fifth aspect or the first to the fourthpossible implementations of the fifth aspect, in a fifth possibleimplementation of the fifth aspect, quantities of channel resourcesincluded in the N channel resource sets are the same.

With reference to any one of the fifth aspect or the first to the fifthpossible implementations of the fifth aspect, in a sixth possibleimplementation of the fifth aspect, at least one of the N channelresource sets includes at least two channel resources having differentformats.

With reference to any one of the fifth aspect or the first to the fifthpossible implementations of the fifth aspect, in a seventh possibleimplementation of the fifth aspect, at least one of the N channelresource sets includes at least two channel resources having a sameformat but different channel capacities.

With reference to any one of the fifth aspect or the first to theseventh possible implementations of the fifth aspect, in an eighthpossible implementation of the fifth aspect, the first receiving unit isfurther configured to receive configuration information of the N channelresource sets from the access network device by using higher layersignaling, where configuration information of the N channel resourcesets corresponding to the different terminal devices is different.

A sixth aspect provides an access network device, including:

a second sending unit, configured to send channel indication informationto a terminal device on a physical control channel;

a second processing unit, configured to preconfigure N channel resourcesets for the terminal device, so that the terminal device determines achannel resource set of the N channel resource sets as a first channelresource set, and determines a channel resource that is in the firstchannel resource set and that is indicated by the channel indicationinformation, where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2,and each of the N channel resource sets includes at least two channelresources; and

a second receiving unit, configured to receive UCI sent by the terminaldevice on the channel resource.

With reference to the sixth aspect, in a first possible implementationof the sixth aspect, quantities of channel resources included in the Nchannel resource sets are the same.

With reference to the sixth aspect, in a second possible implementationof the sixth aspect, at least one of the N channel resource setsincludes at least two channel resources having different formats.

With reference to the sixth aspect, in a third possible implementationof the sixth aspect, at least one of the N channel resource setsincludes at least two channel resources having a same format butdifferent channel capacities.

With reference to any one of the sixth aspect or the first to the thirdpossible implementations of the sixth aspect, in a fourth possibleimplementation of the sixth aspect, the second sending unit is furtherconfigured to send configuration information of the N channel resourcesets to the terminal device by using higher layer signaling, whereconfiguration information of the N channel resource sets correspondingto the different terminal devices is different.

A seventh aspect provides a terminal device, including:

a third receiving unit, configured to receive channel indicationinformation from an access network device on a physical control channel;

a third processing unit, configured to: determine a first channelresource of N channel resources according to the channel indicationinformation, where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2,and the N channel resources are preconfigured by the access networkdevice for the terminal device; and increase or decrease the firstchannel resource to obtain a second channel resource; and

a third sending unit, configured to send UCI to the access networkdevice on the second channel resource.

With reference to the seventh aspect, in a first possible implementationof the seventh aspect, the N channel resources correspond to differentchannel capacities;

the third processing unit is further configured to determine a size ofthe UCI; and

the third processing unit is specifically configured to: if a channelcapacity corresponding to the first channel resource is greater than thesize of the UCI, decrease the first channel resource to obtain thesecond channel resource; or if a channel capacity corresponding to thefirst channel resource is less than the size of the UCI, increase thefirst channel resource to obtain the second channel resource.

With reference to the first possible implementation of the seventhaspect, in a second possible implementation of the seventh aspect, thethird processing unit is specifically configured to decrease the channelcapacity of the first channel resource by k basic channel elements toobtain the second channel resource, so that the size R_(a) of the UCImeets R_(b)−(k+1)R₀<R_(a)≤R_(b)−kR₀, where R_(b) indicates the channelcapacity of the first channel resource, and R₀ indicates a size of thebasic channel element.

With reference to the second possible implementation of the seventhaspect, in a third possible implementation of the seventh aspect, asubcarrier whose frequency is the highest in the k basic channelelements is adjacent to a subcarrier whose frequency is the lowest inthe first channel resource; or

a subcarrier whose frequency is the lowest in the k basic channelelements is adjacent to a subcarrier whose frequency is the highest inthe first channel resource.

With reference to the first possible implementation of the seventhaspect, in a fourth possible implementation of the seventh aspect, thethird processing unit is specifically configured to increase the channelcapacity of the first channel resource by k basic channel elements, sothat the size R_(a) of the UCI meets R_(b)+(k−1)R₀<R_(a)≤R_(b)+kR₀,where R_(b) indicates the channel capacity of the first channelresource, and R₀ indicates a size of the basic channel element.

With reference to the fourth possible implementation of the seventhaspect, in a fifth possible implementation of the seventh aspect, asubcarrier whose frequency is the highest in the k basic channelelements is adjacent to a subcarrier whose frequency is the lowest inthe first channel resource; or

a subcarrier whose frequency is the lowest in the k basic channelelements is adjacent to a subcarrier whose frequency is the highest inthe first channel resource.

With reference to any one of the seventh aspect or the first to thefifth possible implementations of the seventh aspect, in a sixthpossible implementation of the seventh aspect, the UCI includes at leastone of HARQ-ACK information of the terminal device for received downlinkdata or CSI generated by the terminal device.

With reference to any one of the seventh aspect or the first to thesixth possible implementations of the seventh aspect, in a seventhpossible implementation of the seventh aspect, the third receiving unitis further configured to receive configuration information of the Nchannel resources from the access network device by using higher layersignaling, where configuration information of the N channel resourcesets corresponding to the different terminal devices is different.

An eighth aspect provides an access network device, including:

a fourth sending unit, configured to send channel indication informationto a terminal device on a physical control channel, so that the terminaldevice determines a first channel resource of N channel resourcesaccording to the channel indication information, and increases ordecreases the first channel resource to obtain a second channelresource, where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2, andthe N channel resources are preconfigured by the access network devicefor the terminal device; and

a fourth receiving unit, configured to receive UCI sent by the terminaldevice on the second channel resource.

With reference to the eighth aspect, in a first possible implementationof the eighth aspect, the UCI includes at least one of HARQ-ACKinformation of the terminal device for received downlink data or CSIgenerated by the terminal device.

With reference to the eighth aspect or the first possible implementationof the eighth aspect, in a second possible implementation of the eighthaspect, the fourth sending unit is further configured to sendconfiguration information of the N channel resources to the terminaldevice by using higher layer signaling, where configuration informationof the N channel resource sets corresponding to the different terminaldevices is different.

A ninth aspect provides an uplink control information sending andreceiving system, including the terminal device according to any one ofthe fifth aspect or the first to the eighth possible implementations ofthe fifth aspect, and the access network device according to any one ofthe sixth aspect or the first to the fourth possible implementations ofthe sixth aspect.

A tenth aspect provides an uplink control information sending andreceiving system, including the terminal device according to any one ofthe seventh aspect or the first to the seventh possible implementationsof the seventh aspect, and the access network device according to anyone of the eighth aspect or the first or the second possibleimplementation of the eighth aspect.

According to the uplink control information sending method, the uplinkcontrol information receiving method, and the apparatus that areprovided in the embodiments of the present invention, the access networkdevice sends the configuration information of the at least two channelresource sets to the terminal device, where each channel resource setincludes at least two channel resources. This is equivalent to that allchannel resources allocated by the access network device to the terminaldevice are grouped, and each group is equivalent to one channel resourceset. The terminal device first determines the first channel resource setof the multiple channel resource sets, and then determines the channelresource in the first channel resource set according to the channelindication information. Different channel resources may be determined atdifferent times in a subframe according to same channel indicationinformation, while in the prior art, only one channel resource can bedetermined at different times in a subframe according to same channelindication information. As a quantity of channel resources increasescontinuously, a quantity of bits that need to be added to the channelindication information in the embodiments of the present invention isless than that in the prior art, reducing consumption of downlinkchannel resources by the channel indication information in a deliveryprocess.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

To describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the presentinvention more clearly, the following briefly describes the accompanyingdrawings required for describing the embodiments. Apparently, theaccompanying drawings in the following description show some embodimentsof the present invention, and persons of ordinary skill in the art maystill derive other drawings from these accompanying drawings withoutcreative efforts.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of an uplink control information sending methodaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a channel resource according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a channel resource according to anotherembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an uplink control information receiving methodaccording to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an uplink control information sending methodaccording to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a channel resource according to stillanother embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a channel resource according to yetanother embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a channel resource according to stillyet another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a channel resource according to afurther embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of an uplink control information receiving methodaccording to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a structural diagram of a terminal device according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a structural diagram of an access network device according toan embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a structural diagram of a terminal device according toanother embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a structural diagram of an access network device according toanother embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 15 is a structural diagram of an uplink control information sendingand receiving system according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 16 is a structural diagram of an uplink control information sendingand receiving system according to another embodiment of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram of a format of a channel resourceaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of theembodiments of the present invention clearer, the following clearlydescribes the technical solutions in the embodiments of the presentinvention with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodimentsof the present invention. Apparently, the described embodiments are somebut not all of the embodiments of the present invention. All otherembodiments obtained by persons of ordinary skill in the art based onthe embodiments of the present invention without creative efforts shallfall within the protection scope of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of an uplink control information sending methodaccording to an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodimentof the present invention, the uplink control information sending methodis provided for a case in which as a quantity of uplink channelsincreases continuously, a quantity of bits of channel indicationinformation delivered by an access network device increasescontinuously, leading to relatively large consumption of downlinkchannel resources. Specific steps of the method are as follows.

Step S101: A terminal device receives channel indication informationfrom an access network device on a physical control channel.

This embodiment of the present invention relates to an access networkdevice and a terminal device in an LTE system. The access network deviceis specifically a base station, and the access network device sendsdownlink data to a same terminal device by using at least one ofmultiple carriers. For downlink data on each carrier, the terminaldevice separately performs acknowledgment and generates HARQ-ACKinformation. In addition, the access network device sends a referencesignal to the terminal device by using each carrier. The terminal deviceobtains CSI corresponding to each carrier by detecting the referencesignal on each carrier. The access network device feeds back UCI to theaccess network device on an uplink channel. The UCI includes at leastone of the HARQ-ACK information or the CSI.

Before the access network device feeds back the UCI to the accessnetwork device on the uplink channel, the terminal device receives, onthe physical control channel, the channel indication information sent bythe access network device. The physical control channel is specificallya physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and an enhanced physicaldownlink control channel (EPDCCH). Information borne on the physicalcontrol channel is dynamically configured information. That is, thechannel indication information is borne on the physical control channelas dynamically configured information, and is sent by the access networkdevice to the terminal device.

Step S102: The terminal device determines a channel resource set of Nchannel resource sets as a first channel resource set, where N is apositive integer greater than or equal to 2, the N channel resource setsare preconfigured by the access network device for the terminal device,and each of the N channel resource sets includes at least two channelresources.

In this embodiment of the present invention, step S101 may be performedfirst and then step S102 may be performed, or step S102 may be performedfirst and then step S101 may be performed. The access network devicepreconfigures the N channel resource sets for the terminal device, whereN is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2, and each of the Nchannel resource sets includes at least two channel resources. Theterminal device determines a channel resource set of the N channelresource sets as the first channel resource set. Specifically,determining the channel resource set of the N channel resource sets asthe first channel resource set may be according to a type or size of theUCI fed back by the terminal device to the access network device. Thetype of the UCI may be specifically distinguished by using specificcontent included in the UCI, and the size of the UCI may be specificallymeasured by using a quantity of bits of the UCI or an amount of UCI.

Step S103: The terminal device determines a channel resource that is inthe first channel resource set and that is indicated by the channelindication information.

After the first channel resource set is determined in step S102, theterminal device determines the channel resource that is in the firstchannel resource set and that is indicated by the channel indicationinformation. Specifically, the channel resource indicated by the channelindication information is a channel resource in the first channelresource set. For example, the first channel resource set includes fourchannel resources: a channel resource a, a channel resource b, a channelresource c, and a channel resource d. It is predefined that channelindication information 00 indicates the channel resource a, channelindication information 01 indicates the channel resource b, channelindication information 10 indicates the channel resource c, and channelindication information 11 indicates the channel resource d. According toan indication of the channel indication information, the channelresource may be determined in the first channel resource set.

Step S104: The terminal device sends UCI to the access network device onthe channel resource.

The terminal device sends the UCI to the access network device on thechannel resource determined in step S103. That is, the channel resourceis used as an uplink channel to bear the UCI, and is used to send theUCI to the access network device.

In this embodiment of the present invention, the access network devicesends configuration information of the at least two channel resourcesets to the terminal device, where each channel resource set includes atleast two channel resources. This is equivalent to that all channelresources allocated by the access network device to the terminal deviceare grouped, and each group is equivalent to one channel resource set.The terminal device first determines the first channel resource set ofthe multiple channel resource sets, and then determines the channelresource in the first channel resource set according to the channelindication information. Different channel resources may be determined atdifferent times in a subframe according to same channel indicationinformation, while in the prior art, only one channel resource can bedetermined at different times in a subframe according to same channelindication information. As a quantity of channel resources increasescontinuously, a quantity of bits that need to be added to the channelindication information in this embodiment of the present invention isless than that in the prior art, reducing consumption of downlinkchannel resources by the channel indication information in a deliveryprocess.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a channel resource according to anembodiment of the present invention. Based on the foregoing embodiment,before the determining, by the terminal device, a channel resource setof N channel resource sets as a first channel resource set, the methodfurther includes: determining, by the terminal device, a type of theUCI. The determining, by the terminal device, a channel resource set ofN channel resource sets as a first channel resource set includes:determining, by the terminal device, the channel resource set that is ofthe N channel resource sets and that matches the type of the UCI as thefirst channel resource set.

The type of the UCI includes a first type and a second type, and N=2. Afirst type of UCI includes CSI and HARQ-ACK information, and a channelresource included in one of the N channel resource sets is used to sendthe first type of UCI. A second type of UCI includes HARQ-ACKinformation but not CSI, and a channel resource included in the other ofthe N channel resource sets is used to send the second type of UCI.

The terminal device determines the type of the UCI. For each downlinkcarrier for the terminal device, there is corresponding configurationinformation for sending periodic CSI. Specifically, the configurationinformation includes a sending period of the periodic CSI and a subframeoffset value for sending the periodic CSI in the period. The userequipment (UE) may determine, by using a sending period of periodic CSIon each downlink carrier and a subframe offset value for sending theperiodic CSI that are configured by the base station, whether theperiodic CSI needs to be sent on at least one carrier in a currentuplink subframe, so as to determine whether a type of UCI that needs tobe fed back in the current uplink subframe is the first type of UCI orthe second type of UCI.

In this embodiment of the present invention, the first type of UCIincludes the CSI and the HARQ-ACK information, the second type of UCIincludes HARQ-ACK information but not CSI, and N=2. The determining achannel resource set of N channel resource sets as a first channelresource set may be specifically performed according to a correspondencebetween a type of a channel resource set and a type of UCI.Specifically, the correspondence is implemented in two manners. In afirst manner, when preconfiguring the N channel resource sets for theterminal device, the access network device predefines a type that is ofUCI and that matches each channel resource set. For example, whether achannel resource in each channel resource set is used to send the firsttype of UCI or the second type of UCI. In a second manner, whenpreconfiguring the N channel resource sets for the terminal device, theaccess network device sends control signaling to the terminal device, toindicate a type that is of UCI and that matches each channel resourceset. For example, whether a channel resource in each channel resourceset is used to send the first type of UCI or the second type of UCI.

As shown in FIG. 2, the configuration information in the foregoingembodiment includes two channel resource sets: a channel resource set Aand a channel resource set B. Each channel resource set matches aspecific different type of UCI. In this embodiment of the presentinvention, it is assumed that the channel resource set A matches thefirst type of UCI, and the channel resource set B matches the secondtype of UCI. That is, each of channel resources such as a channelresource 1-1, a channel resource 1-2, a channel resource 1-3, and achannel resource 1-4 in the channel resource set A can bear the CSI andthe HARQ-ACK information, and each of channel resources such as achannel resource 2-1, a channel resource 2-2, a channel resource 2-3,and a channel resource 2-4 in the channel resource set B can be used tobear the HARQ-ACK information but cannot be used to bear the CSI.

The terminal device determines, according to the type of the UCI, thechannel resource set matching the type of the UCI as the first channelresource set. A specific determining process is: If the UCI includes theCSI, the terminal device determines the channel resource set A matchingthe type of the UCI as the first channel resource set; or if the UCIdoes not include the CSI, the terminal device determines the channelresource set B as the first channel resource set.

In addition, when the first channel resource set is predefined as thechannel resource set A, the channel indication information 00 indicatesthe channel resource 1-1, the channel indication information 01indicates the channel resource 1-2, the channel indication information10 indicates the channel resource 1-3, and the channel indicationinformation 11 indicates the channel resource 1-4. When the firstchannel resource set is predefined as the channel resource set B, thechannel indication information 00 indicates the channel resource 2-1,the channel indication information 01 indicates the channel resource2-2, the channel indication information 10 indicates the channelresource 2-3, and the channel indication information 11 indicates thechannel resource 2-4.

If the determined first channel resource set is the channel resource setA, and a channel resource identifier carried in the channel indicationinformation is a binary number 01, a channel resource determined by theterminal device in the channel resource set A according to the channelindication information is the channel resource 1-2. If the determinedfirst channel resource set is the channel resource set B, a channelresource determined by the terminal device in the channel resource set Baccording to the same channel indication information is the channelresource 2-2. That is, same channel indication information may be usedto indicate different target channel resources at different times in asubframe.

This embodiment of the present invention specifically provides themethod for determining, by the terminal device according to the type ofthe UCI, the channel resource set matching the type of the UCI of thetwo channel resource sets as the first channel resource set.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a channel resource according to anotherembodiment of the present invention. Before the determining, by theterminal device, a channel resource set of N channel resource sets as afirst channel resource set, the method further includes: determining, bythe terminal device, a size of the UCI. The determining, by the terminaldevice, a channel resource set of N channel resource sets as a firstchannel resource set includes: determining, by the terminal device, thechannel resource set that is of the N channel resource sets and thatmatches the size K of the UCI as the first channel resource set.

The terminal device determines the size of the UCI. For each downlinkcarrier for the terminal device, there is corresponding configurationinformation for sending periodic CSI. Specifically, the configurationinformation includes a sending period of the periodic CSI, a subframeoffset value for sending the periodic CSI in the period, a reportingmode of the periodic CSI, and the like. The UE may determine, by usingconfiguration information that is for periodic CSI on each downlinkcarrier and that is configured by the base station, a quantity of bitsfor reporting the periodic CSI on each carrier in a current uplinksubframe and reported content, so as to determine a size K of UCI thatneeds to be fed back in the current uplink subframe.

The determining, by the terminal device, the channel resource set thatis of the N channel resource sets and that matches the size K of the UCIas the first channel resource set includes: determining, by the terminaldevice, a capacity range corresponding to each of the N channel resourcesets; and determining, by the terminal device, a channel resource set ofthe N channel resource sets as the first channel resource set, so thatthe size K of the UCI meets R_(min)≤K≤R_(max), where a capacity range ofthe channel resource set is [R_(min), R_(max)], R_(min) is a minimumvalue of a capacity of the channel resource set, and R_(max) is amaximum value of the capacity of the channel resource set.

As shown in FIG. 3, the access network device preconfigures four channelresource sets for the terminal device: a channel resource set A, achannel resource set B, a channel resource set C, and a channel resourceset D. The access network device sends the configuration information tothe terminal device. The configuration information includes a capacityrange corresponding to each of the four channel resource sets, and thechannel resource sets correspond to different capacity ranges. Thecapacity range corresponding to each channel resource set refers to aquantity of bits of UCI that can be sent on channel resources of eachchannel resource set. For example, a capacity range corresponding to thechannel resource set A is [R_(1,min), R_(1,max)], where R_(1,min) aminimum value of a capacity of the channel resource set A, and R_(1,max)is a maximum value of the capacity of the channel resource set A.Similarly, a capacity range corresponding to the channel resource set Bis [R_(2,min), R_(2,max)], a capacity range corresponding to the channelresource set C is [R_(3,min), R_(3,max)], and a capacity rangecorresponding to the channel resource set D is [R_(4,min), R_(4,max)].The size of the UCI may be measured by using the quantity of bits of theUCI or the amount of the UCI. Specifically, each of the foregoing fourcapacity ranges represents a range of the quantity of bits. If thequantity K of bits of the UCI meets R_(2,min)≤K≤R_(2,max), that is, thequantity of bits of the UCI is in a range of [R_(2,min), R_(2,max)], theterminal device determines that the first channel resource set is thechannel resource set B.

Alternatively, the access network device sends the configurationinformation to the terminal device. The configuration informationincludes capacity information corresponding to each of the four channelresource sets, and the channel resource sets correspond to differentcapacity information. For example, as the first channel resource set,the channel resource set A is corresponding to capacity information R₁,and a channel capacity corresponding to each channel resource in thechannel resource set A is R₁; as the second channel resource set, thechannel resource set B is corresponding to capacity information R₂, anda channel capacity corresponding to each channel resource in the channelresource set B is R₂; as the third channel resource set, the channelresource set C is corresponding to capacity information R₃, and achannel capacity corresponding to each channel resource in the channelresource set C is R₃; as the fourth channel resource set, the channelresource set D is corresponding to capacity information R₄, and achannel capacity corresponding to each channel resource in the channelresource set D is R₄; R₁<R₂<R₃<R₄. If the quantity R_(a) of bits of theUCI meets R_(i−1)<R_(a)≤R_(l), where 1≤i≤4, the terminal devicedetermines that the first channel resource set is the i^(th) channelresource set. Specifically, for example, if the quantity R_(a) of bitsof the UCI meets R₁<R_(a)≤R₂, the terminal device determines that thefirst channel resource set is the second channel resource set, that is,the channel resource set B.

In addition, when the first channel resource set is the channel resourceset A, the channel indication information 00 indicates the channelresource 1-1, the channel indication information 01 indicates thechannel resource 1-2, the channel indication information 10 indicatesthe channel resource 1-3, and the channel indication information 11indicates the channel resource 1-4. When the first channel resource setis the channel resource set B, the channel indication information 00indicates the channel resource 2-1, the channel indication information01 indicates the channel resource 2-2, the channel indicationinformation 10 indicates the channel resource 2-3, and the channelindication information 11 indicates the channel resource 2-4. When thefirst channel resource set is the channel resource set C, the channelindication information 00 indicates a channel resource 3-1, the channelindication information 01 indicates a channel resource 3-2, the channelindication information 10 indicates a channel resource 3-3, and thechannel indication information 11 indicates a channel resource 3-4. Whenthe first channel resource set is the channel resource set D, thechannel indication information 00 indicates a channel resource 4-1, thechannel indication information 01 indicates a channel resource 4-2, thechannel indication information 10 indicates a channel resource 4-3, andthe channel indication information 11 indicates a channel resource 4-4.

If the first channel resource set is the channel resource set B, and achannel resource identifier carried in the channel indicationinformation is a binary number 01, a channel resource determined by theterminal device in the channel resource set B according to the channelindication information is the channel resource 2-2. If the first channelresource set is the channel resource set D, a channel resourcedetermined by the terminal device in the channel resource set Daccording to the same channel indication information is the channelresource 4-2. That is, same channel indication information may be usedto indicate different channel resources at different times in asubframe.

In this embodiment of the present invention, quantities of channelresources included in the N channel resource sets are the same. As shownin FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, all the channel resource sets include a samequantity of channel resources. In addition, all the channel resourcesets may alternatively include different quantities of channelresources.

At least one of the N channel resource sets includes at least twochannel resources having different formats. A channel resource setincludes channel resources having at least two different formats. Forexample, the four channel resources in the channel resource set A mayhave two formats, three formats, or four formats. FIG. 17 is a schematicdiagram of a format of a channel resource according to an embodiment ofthe present invention. The format of the channel resource may include,but is not limited to, the following formats.

First: physical uplink control channel format 3. A symbol obtained afteran original bit is channel coded and a symbol obtained after theoriginal bit is modulated are separately placed in two timeslots of onesubframe. In this way, there are 12 modulated symbols in each timeslot,and the 12 modulated symbols are placed on 12 consecutive subcarriers onone time-domain symbol in one timeslot, that is, occupy 12 subcarrierson one time-domain symbol of one resource block (RB). Then, for eachtimeslot, spreading is performed by using an orthogonal cover code (OCC)sequence w having a length of 5 in a time domain. One timeslot occupiesfive time-domain symbols in one RB. Different UEs may perform codedivision multiplexing on one RB by using different OCCs. Two remainingsymbols are used to bear a reference signal (RS). After that, discreteFourier transform (DFT) precoding and inverse fast Fourier transform(IFFT) are performed on the spread bit. In the case of a normal CP, asending structural diagram of physical uplink control channel (PUCCH)format 3 is shown in FIG. 17: In one resource block, the referencesignal is specifically a pilot portion, and a portion other than thereference signal is a data portion.

Second: a first format based on PUCCH format 3. The channel resource inPUCCH format 3 is extended to occupy N (N>1)RBs. Using two RBs as anexample, 12 subcarriers in each timeslot are extended to 24 subcarriersin each timeslot. An original bit is channel coded and scrambledseparately, and then obtained bits are modulated. Obtained results areseparately placed on each subcarrier of two RBs in one subframe. Then,for each timeslot, spreading is performed by using an OCC sequence whaving a length of 5 in a time domain. One timeslot occupies fivetime-domain symbols. Two remaining symbols are used to bear a RS. Amapping location of a demodulation reference signal is the same as thatin PUCCH format 3. Then, on each symbol, DFT precoding in a length of 24and IFFT are performed on all spread data in the two RBs. A solution ofperforming spreading in 3 RBs or more RBs is similar, provided thatextension is performed in a frequency domain. In addition to RMencoding, original bit information in this format may also be encoded byusing a convolutional code, for example, a tail biting convolutionalcode (TBCC).

Third: a second format based on PUCCH format 3. The channel resourceoccupies N (N>1) RBs, and a format of each RB is the same as that inPUCCH format 3. Using two RBs as an example, 12 subcarriers in eachtimeslot are extended to 24 subcarriers in each timeslot. An originalbit is channel coded and scrambled separately, and then obtained bitsare modulated. Obtained results are separately placed on each subcarrierof two RBs in one subframe. Then, for each timeslot, spreading isperformed by using an OCC sequence w having a length of 5 in a timedomain. One timeslot occupies five time-domain symbols. Two remainingsymbols are used to bear a RS. A mapping location of a demodulationreference signal is the same as that in PUCCH format 3. Then, on eachsymbol, DFT precoding in a length of 12 is separately performed onspread data in each of the two RBs. A result of each DFT precoding ismapped to IFFT on a carrier in a frequency domain, to complete the IFFTtransform. A solution of performing spreading in 3 RBs or more RBs issimilar, provided that extension is performed in the frequency domain.In addition to RM encoding, original bit information in this format mayalso be encoded by using a convolutional code, for example, TBCC.

Fourth: a third format based on PUCCH format 3. The channel resourceoccupies N (N≥1) RBs. In a possible manner, a DFT-S-OFDM transmissionmode is used in the channel resource. An original bit is channel codedand modulated, and obtained results are separately placed on K symbolsin one subframe. For each of the K symbols, in a time domain, spreadingis performed by using an OCC having a length of M (M<5). Each to-be-sentmodulated symbol occupies M time-domain symbols, and each timeslotincludes two symbols used to bear a reference signal (Reference Signal,RS for short). Then, a mapping location of a demodulation referencesignal is the same as that in PUCCH format 3. DFT precoding and IFFT areperformed on the spread bit. In another possible manner, a DFT-S-OFDMtransmission mode is used in each of the N RBs. An original bit ischannel coded and modulated, and obtained results are separately placedon K symbols in one subframe. For each of the K symbols, in a timedomain, spreading is performed by using an OCC having a length of M(M<5). Each to-be-sent modulated symbol occupies M time-domain symbols,and each timeslot includes two symbols used to bear a RS. A mappinglocation of a demodulation reference signal is the same as that in PUCCHformat 3. In addition to RM encoding, original bit information in thisformat may also be encoded by using a convolutional code, for example,TBCC.

Fourth: a fourth format based on PUCCH format 3. The channel resourceoccupies N (N≥1) RBs. In a possible manner, a DFT-S-OFDM transmissionmode is used in the channel resource. An original bit is channel codedand modulated, and obtained results are separately placed in twotimeslots of one subframe. P (P≥2) coded and modulated symbols may beplaced on each symbol. In a time domain, P different OCCs each having alength of 5 are separately used to perform spreading on the P coded andmodulated symbols on each symbol, and the P spread signals aresuperimposed. Each to-be-sent modulated symbol occupies 5 time-domainsymbols, and each timeslot includes two symbols used to bear a RS. Amapping location of a demodulation reference signal is the same as thatin PUCCH format 3. Then, DFT precoding and IFFT are performed on thespread bit. In another possible manner, a DFT-S-OFDM transmission modeis used in each of the N RBs. An original bit is channel coded andmodulated, and obtained results are separately placed in two timeslotsof one subframe. P (P≥2) coded and modulated symbols may be placed oneach symbol. In a time domain, P different OCCs each having a length of5 are separately used to perform spreading on the P coded and modulatedsymbols on each symbol, and the P spread signals are superimposed. Eachto-be-sent modulated symbol occupies 5 time-domain symbols, and eachtimeslot includes two symbols used to bear a RS. A mapping location of ademodulation reference signal is the same as that in PUCCH format 3. Inaddition to RM encoding, original bit information in this format mayalso be encoded by using a convolutional code, for example, TBCC.

Fifth: a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH)-based format. Thechannel resource occupies N(N≥1) RBs. For each physical resource block(PRB), in the case of a normal CP, a demodulation reference signaloccupies an intermediate symbol in each PRB; in the case of an extendedCP, a demodulation reference signal occupies the third symbol in eachPRB. After original information to be fed back is channel coded andmodulated, the information is mapped to a location other than that of ademodulation reference signal in a first PUCCH channel resource, andthen DFT precoding and IFFT are performed on the information. Originalbit information in this format may be encoded by using a convolutionalcode, for example, TBCC. In the case of the normal CP, a sendingstructural diagram of the PUSCH-based format is shown in FIG. 17: In oneresource block, the reference signal is specifically a pilot portion,and a portion other than the reference signal is a data portion.

At least one of the N channel resource sets includes at least twochannel resources having a same format but different channel capacities.For example, the channel resource 1-1 and the channel resource 1-2 inthe channel resource set A have a same format but different channelcapacities.

The UCI further includes scheduling request information SR.

Before the receiving, by a terminal device, channel indicationinformation from an access network device on a physical control channel,the method further includes: receiving, by the terminal device,configuration information of the N channel resource sets from the accessnetwork device by using higher layer signaling, where configurationinformation of the N channel resource sets corresponding to thedifferent terminal devices is different.

Before the receiving, by a terminal device, channel indicationinformation from an access network device on a physical control channel,the terminal device receives the configuration information sent by theaccess network device. The configuration information includes the Nchannel resource sets, and configuration information of the N channelresource sets corresponding to the different terminal devices isdifferent.

This embodiment of the present invention specifically provides themethod for determining, by the terminal device according to the size ofthe UCI, the channel resource set matching the size of the UCI of the atleast two channel resource sets as the first channel resource set.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an uplink control information receiving methodaccording to another embodiment of the present invention. In thisembodiment of the present invention, the uplink control informationsending method is provided for a case in which as a quantity of uplinkchannels increases continuously, a quantity of bits of channelindication information delivered by an access network device increasescontinuously, leading to relatively large consumption of downlinkchannel resources. Specific steps of the method are as follows:

Step S401: An access network device sends channel indication informationto a terminal device on a physical control channel.

This embodiment of the present invention relates to an access networkdevice and a terminal device in an LTE system. The access network deviceis specifically a base station, and the access network device sendsdownlink data to a same terminal device by using at least one ofmultiple carriers. For downlink data on each carrier, the terminaldevice separately performs acknowledgment and generates HARQ-ACKinformation. In addition, the access network device sends a referencesignal to the terminal device by using each carrier. The terminal deviceobtains CSI corresponding to each carrier by detecting the referencesignal on each carrier. The access network device feeds back UCI to theaccess network device on an uplink channel. The UCI includes at leastone of the HARQ-ACK information or the CSI.

Before the access network device feeds back the UCI to the accessnetwork device on the uplink channel, the access network device sendsthe channel indication information to the terminal device on thephysical control channel. The physical control channel is specifically aPDCCH and an EPDCCH. Information borne on the physical control channelis dynamically configured information. That is, the channel indicationinformation is borne on the physical control channel as dynamicallyconfigured information, and is sent by the access network device to theterminal device.

Step S402: The access network device preconfigures N channel resourcesets for the terminal device, so that the terminal device determines achannel resource set of the N channel resource sets as a first channelresource set, and determines a channel resource that is in the firstchannel resource set and that is indicated by the channel indicationinformation, where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2,and each of the N channel resource sets includes at least two channelresources.

In this embodiment of the present invention, step S401 may be performedfirst and then step S402 may be performed, or step S402 may be performedfirst and then step S401 may be performed. The access network devicepreconfigures the N channel resource sets for the terminal device, whereN is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2, and each of the Nchannel resource sets includes at least two channel resources. Theterminal device determines a channel resource set of the N channelresource sets as the first channel resource set. Specifically,determining the channel resource set of the N channel resource sets asthe first channel resource set may be according to a type or size of theUCI fed back by the terminal device to the access network device. Thetype of the UCI may be specifically distinguished by using specificcontent included in the UCI, and the size of the UCI may be specificallymeasured by using a quantity of bits of the UCI or an amount of UCI.After the first channel resource set is determined, the terminal devicedetermines the channel resource that is in the first channel resourceset and that is indicated by the channel indication information.Specifically, the channel resource indicated by the channel indicationinformation is a channel resource in the first channel resource set. Forexample, the first channel resource set includes four channel resources:a channel resource a, a channel resource b, a channel resource c, and achannel resource d. It is predefined that channel indication information00 indicates the channel resource a, channel indication information 01indicates the channel resource b, channel indication information 10indicates the channel resource c, and channel indication information 11indicates the channel resource d. According to an indication of thechannel indication information, the channel resource may be determinedin the first channel resource set.

Step S403: The access network device receives UCI sent by the terminaldevice on the channel resource.

The access network device receives the UCI sent by the terminal deviceon the determined channel resource. That is, the channel resource isused as the uplink channel to bear the UCI.

In this embodiment of the present invention, the access network devicesends configuration information of the at least two channel resourcesets to the terminal device, where each channel resource set includes atleast two channel resources. This is equivalent to that all channelresources allocated by the access network device to the terminal deviceare grouped, and each group is equivalent to one channel resource set.The terminal device first determines the first channel resource set ofthe multiple channel resource sets, and then determines the channelresource in the first channel resource set according to the channelindication information. Different channel resources may be determined atdifferent times in a subframe according to same channel indicationinformation, while in the prior art, only one channel resource can bedetermined at different times in a subframe according to same channelindication information. As a quantity of channel resources increasescontinuously, a quantity of bits that need to be added to the channelindication information in this embodiment of the present invention isless than that in the prior art, reducing consumption of downlinkchannel resources by the channel indication information in a deliveryprocess.

Based on the foregoing embodiment, quantities of channel resourcesincluded in the N channel resource sets are the same. As shown in FIG. 2and FIG. 3, all the channel resource sets include a same quantity ofchannel resources. In addition, all the channel resource sets mayalternatively include different quantities of channel resources.

At least one of the N channel resource sets includes at least twochannel resources having different formats. A channel resource setincludes channel resources having at least two different formats. Forexample, four channel resources in a channel resource set A may have twoformats, three formats, or four formats. A format of the channelresource is shown in FIG. 17. The five formats detailed in the foregoingembodiment are not described herein again.

At least one of the N channel resource sets includes at least twochannel resources having a same format but different channel capacities.For example, a channel resource 1-1 and a channel resource 1-2 in thechannel resource set A have a same format but different channelcapacities.

The UCI further includes SR.

Before the sending, by an access network device, channel indicationinformation to a terminal device on a physical control channel, themethod further includes: sending, by the access network device,configuration information of the N channel resource sets to the terminaldevice by using higher layer signaling, where configuration informationof the N channel resource sets corresponding to the different terminaldevices is different.

Before the sending, by an access network device, channel indicationinformation to a terminal device on a physical control channel, theaccess network device sends the configuration information to theterminal device. The configuration information includes the N channelresource sets, and configuration information of the N channel resourcesets corresponding to the different terminal devices is different.

This embodiment of the present invention specifically provides themethod for determining, by the terminal device according to the type orthe size of the UCI, the channel resource set matching the type or thesize of the UCI of the multiple channel resource sets as the firstchannel resource set.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an uplink control information sending methodaccording to another embodiment of the present invention. In thisembodiment of the present invention, the uplink control informationsending method is provided for a case in which a capacity of an uplinkchannel specified by an access network device for the terminal device byusing channel indication information does not meet a size of UCI,leading to relatively low utilization of the uplink channel or losses ofUCI bits. Specific steps of the method are as follows:

Step S501: A terminal device receives channel indication informationfrom an access network device on a physical control channel.

The terminal device receives, on the physical control channel, thechannel indication information sent by the access network device. Thephysical control channel is specifically a PDCCH and an EPDCCH.Information borne on the physical control channel is dynamicallyconfigured information. That is, the channel indication information isborne on the physical control channel as dynamically configuredinformation, and is sent by the access network device to the terminaldevice. The channel indication information is specifically channelindication information.

Step S502: The terminal device determines a first channel resource of Nchannel resources according to the channel indication information, whereN is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2, and the N channelresources are preconfigured by the access network device for theterminal device.

If the access network device allocates four channel resources to theterminal device, which are specifically a channel resource a, a channelresource b, a channel resource c, and a channel resource d, and it ispredefined that channel indication information 00 indicates the channelresource a, channel indication information 01 indicates the channelresource b, channel indication information 10 indicates the channelresource c, and channel indication information 11 indicates the channelresource d, the first channel resource may be determined in the fourchannel resources according to an indication of the channel indicationinformation. For example, it is determined, according to the indicationof the channel indication information, that the first channel resourceis the channel resource b.

Step S503: The terminal device increases or decreases the first channelresource to obtain a second channel resource.

The N channel resources correspond to different channel capacities.Before the increasing or decreasing, by the terminal device, the firstchannel resource to obtain a second channel resource, the method furtherincludes: determining, by the terminal device, a size of the UCI. Theincreasing or decreasing, by the terminal device, the first channelresource to obtain a second channel resource includes: if a channelcapacity corresponding to the first channel resource is greater than thesize of the UCI, decreasing, by the terminal device, the first channelresource to obtain the second channel resource; or if a channel capacitycorresponding to the first channel resource is less than the size of theUCI, increasing, by the terminal device, the first channel resource toobtain the second channel resource.

Step S504: The terminal device sends UCI to the access network device onthe second channel resource.

The first channel resource is modified to obtain the second channelresource in step S503, so that a capacity corresponding to the secondchannel resource matches the size of the UCI. The terminal device sendsthe UCI to the access network device on the second channel resource.

In this embodiment of the present invention, one of the at least twochannel resources is determined as the first channel resource by usingthe channel indication information; the first channel resource isincreased or decreased according to capacity information correspondingto the first channel resource and the size of the UCI generated by theterminal device, to obtain the second channel resource; and the terminaldevice sends the UCI to the access network device on the second channelresource, so that a capacity corresponding to the second channelresource matches the size of the UCI. That is, when the first channelresource is greater than the size of the UCI, the first channel resourceis decreased to increase utilization of the uplink channel; when thefirst channel resource is less than the size of the UCI, the firstchannel resource is increased to prevent discarding of UCI bits.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a channel resource according to stillanother embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a schematicdiagram of a channel resource according to yet another embodiment of thepresent invention. Based on the foregoing embodiment, the decreasing, bythe terminal device, the first channel resource to obtain the secondchannel resource includes: decreasing, by the terminal device, thechannel capacity of the first channel resource by k basic channelelements to obtain the second channel resource, so that the size R_(a)of the UCI meets R_(b)−(k+1)R₀<R_(a)≤R_(b)−kR₀, where R_(b) indicatesthe channel capacity of the first channel resource, and R₀ indicates asize of the basic channel element.

In this embodiment of the present invention, the channel capacity of thefirst channel resource is represented by R_(b), and the size of the UCIis represented by R_(a). For example, at a time in a subframe n, if thecapacity corresponding to the first channel resource determined by theterminal device by using the channel indication information is greaterthan the size of the UCI, that is, R_(b)>R_(a), the channel capacity ofthe first channel resource is decreased. Specifically, the channelcapacity of the first channel resource is in a unit of a basic channelelement, and it is preset that the size of the basic channel element isR₀. A difference between R_(b) and R_(a) is divided by R₀, and then anobtained result is rounded up to obtain a quantity k of basic channelelements that need to be subtracted, so that the size R_(a) of the UCImeets R_(b)−(k+1)R₀<R_(a)≤R_(b)−kR₀. In different subframes, sizes ofthe UCI are different. Therefore, in different subframes, differentquantities of basic channel elements need to be subtracted from firstchannel resources having a same size. For example, at the time in thesubframe n, four basic channel elements need to be subtracted from thefirst channel resource; at a time in a subframe m, seven basic channelelements need to be subtracted from the first channel resource.

A subcarrier whose frequency is the highest in the k basic channelelements is adjacent to a subcarrier whose frequency is the lowest inthe first channel resource; or a subcarrier whose frequency is thelowest in the k basic channel elements is adjacent to a subcarrier whosefrequency is the highest in the first channel resource.

As shown in FIG. 6, a frequency increases in a direction of an arrow f.Specifically, the subcarrier whose frequency is the highest in the kbasic channel elements is adjacent to the subcarrier whose frequency isthe lowest in the first channel resource. That is, the first channelresource may be decreased from a low frequency band of the first channelresource.

As shown in FIG. 7, a frequency increases in a direction of an arrow fSpecifically, the subcarrier whose frequency is the lowest in the kbasic channel elements is adjacent to the subcarrier whose frequency isthe highest in the first channel resource. That is, the first channelresource may be decreased from a high frequency band of the firstchannel resource.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a channel resource according to stillyet another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a schematicdiagram of a channel resource according to a further embodiment of thepresent invention. Based on the foregoing embodiment, the increasing, bythe terminal device, the first channel resource to obtain the secondchannel resource includes: increasing, by the terminal device, thechannel capacity of the first channel resource by k basic channelelements, so that the size R_(a) of the UCI meetsR_(b)+(k−1)R₀<R_(a)≤R_(b)+kR₀, where R_(b) indicates the channelcapacity of the first channel resource, and R₀ indicates a size of thebasic channel element.

In this embodiment of the present invention, the channel capacity of thefirst channel resource is represented by R_(b), and the size of the UCIis represented by R_(a). For example, at a time in a subframe n, if thecapacity corresponding to the first channel resource determined by theterminal device by using the channel indication information is less thanthe size of the UCI, that is, R_(b)<R_(a), the channel capacity of thefirst channel resource is increased. Specifically, the channel capacityof the first channel resource is in a unit of a basic channel element,and it is preset that the size of the basic channel element is R₀. Adifference between R_(a) and R_(b) is divided by R₀, and then anobtained result is rounded up to obtain a quantity k of basic channelelements that need to be added, so that the size R_(a) of the UCI meetsR_(b)+(k−1)R₀<R_(a)≤R_(b)+kR₀. In different subframes, sizes of the UCIare different. Therefore, in different subframes, different quantitiesof basic channel elements need to be added to first channel resourceshaving a same size. For example, at the time in the subframe n, fourbasic channel elements need to be added to the first channel resource;at a time in a subframe m, seven basic channel elements need to be addedto the first channel resource.

A subcarrier whose frequency is the highest in the k basic channelelements is adjacent to a subcarrier whose frequency is the lowest inthe first channel resource; or a subcarrier whose frequency is thelowest in the k basic channel elements is adjacent to a subcarrier whosefrequency is the highest in the first channel resource.

As shown in FIG. 8, a frequency increases in a direction of an arrow f.Specifically, the subcarrier whose frequency is the highest in the kbasic channel elements is adjacent to the subcarrier whose frequency isthe lowest in the first channel resource. That is, the first channelresource may be increased from a low frequency band of the first channelresource.

As shown in FIG. 9, a frequency increases in a direction of an arrow f.Specifically, the subcarrier whose frequency is the lowest in the kbasic channel elements is adjacent to the subcarrier whose frequency isthe highest in the first channel resource. That is, the first channelresource may be increased from a high frequency band of the firstchannel resource.

In this embodiment of the present invention, the UCI includes at leastone of HARQ-ACK information of the terminal device for received downlinkdata or CSI generated by the terminal device.

The UCI further includes SR.

Before the receiving, by a terminal device, channel indicationinformation from an access network device on a physical control channel,the method further includes: receiving, by the terminal device,configuration information of the N channel resources from the accessnetwork device by using higher layer signaling, where configurationinformation of the N channel resource sets corresponding to thedifferent terminal devices is different.

Before the receiving, by a terminal device, channel indicationinformation from an access network device on a physical control channel,the terminal device further receives the configuration information sentby the access network device by using higher layer signaling. Theconfiguration information includes the N channel resources, andconfiguration information of the N channel resource sets correspondingto the different terminal devices is different.

In this embodiment of the present invention, the first channel resourceis increased or decreased in a unit of a basic channel element, toobtain the second channel resource, so that the capacity correspondingto the second channel resource matches the size of the UCI. That is,when the first channel resource is greater than the size of the UCI, thefirst channel resource is decreased to increase utilization of theuplink channel; when the first channel resource is less than the size ofthe UCI, the first channel resource is increased to prevent discardingof UCI bits.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of an uplink control information receiving methodaccording to another embodiment of the present invention. In thisembodiment of the present invention, the uplink control informationsending method is provided for a case in which a capacity of an uplinkchannel specified by an access network device for the terminal device byusing channel indication information does not meet a size of UCI,leading to relatively low utilization of the uplink channel ordiscarding of UCI bits. Specific steps of the method are as follows:

Step S1001: An access network device sends channel indicationinformation to a terminal device on a physical control channel, so thatthe terminal device determines a first channel resource of N channelresources according to the channel indication information, and increasesor decreases the first channel resource to obtain a second channelresource, where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2, andthe N channel resources are preconfigured by the access network devicefor the terminal device.

The terminal device receives, on the physical control channel, thechannel indication information sent by the access network device. Thephysical control channel is specifically a PDCCH and an EPDCCH.Information borne on the physical control channel is dynamicallyconfigured information. That is, the channel indication information isborne on the physical control channel as dynamically configuredinformation, and is sent by the access network device to the terminaldevice. The channel indication information is specifically channelindication information. If the access network device allocates fourchannel resources to the terminal device, which are specifically achannel resource a, a channel resource b, a channel resource c, and achannel resource d, and it is predefined that channel indicationinformation 00 indicates the channel resource a, channel indicationinformation 01 indicates the channel resource b, channel indicationinformation 10 indicates the channel resource c, and channel indicationinformation 11 indicates the channel resource d, the first channelresource may be determined in the four channel resources according to anindication of the channel indication information. For example, it isdetermined, according to the indication of the channel indicationinformation, that the first channel resource is the channel resource b.The N channel resources correspond to different channel capacities.Before the increasing or decreasing, by the terminal device, the firstchannel resource to obtain a second channel resource, the method furtherincludes: determining, by the terminal device, a size of the UCI. Theincreasing or decreasing, by the terminal device, the first channelresource to obtain a second channel resource includes: if a channelcapacity corresponding to the first channel resource is greater than thesize of the UCI, decreasing, by the terminal device, the first channelresource to obtain the second channel resource; or if a channel capacitycorresponding to the first channel resource is less than the size of theUCI, increasing, by the terminal device, the first channel resource toobtain the second channel resource.

Step S1002: The access network device receives UCI sent by the terminaldevice on the second channel resource.

The first channel resource is modified to obtain the second channelresource, so that a capacity corresponding to the second channelresource matches the size of the UCI. The access network device receivesthe UCI sent by the terminal device on the second channel resource.

In this embodiment of the present invention, the UCI includes at leastone of HARQ-ACK information of the terminal device for received downlinkdata or CSI generated by the terminal device.

The UCI further includes SR.

Before the sending, by an access network device, channel indicationinformation to a terminal device on a physical control channel, themethod further includes: sending, by the access network device,configuration information of the N channel resources to the terminaldevice by using higher layer signaling, where configuration informationof the N channel resource sets corresponding to the different terminaldevices is different.

Before the sending, by an access network device, channel indicationinformation to a terminal device on a physical control channel, theaccess network device sends the configuration information to theterminal device by using the higher layer signaling. The configurationinformation includes the N channel resources, and configurationinformation of the N channel resource sets corresponding to thedifferent terminal devices is different.

In this embodiment of the present invention, one of the at least twochannel resources is determined as the first channel resource by usingthe channel indication information; the first channel resource isincreased or decreased according to capacity information correspondingto the first channel resource and the size of the UCI generated by theterminal device, to obtain the second channel resource; and the terminaldevice sends the UCI to the access network device on the second channelresource, so that a capacity corresponding to the second channelresource matches the size of the UCI. That is, when the first channelresource is greater than the size of the UCI, the first channel resourceis decreased to increase utilization of the uplink channel; when thefirst channel resource is less than the size of the UCI, the firstchannel resource is increased to prevent discarding of UCI bits.

FIG. 11 is a structural diagram of a terminal device according to anembodiment of the present invention. The terminal device provided inthis embodiment of the present invention may perform the processingprocedure provided in the embodiment of the uplink control informationsending method. As shown in FIG. 11, the terminal device 110 includes afirst receiving unit 111, a first processing unit 112, and a firstsending unit 113. The first receiving unit 111 is configured to receivechannel indication information from an access network device on aphysical control channel. The first processing unit 112 is configuredto: determine a channel resource set of N channel resource sets as afirst channel resource set, where N is a positive integer greater thanor equal to 2, the N channel resource sets are preconfigured by theaccess network device for the terminal device, and each of the N channelresource sets includes at least two channel resources; and determine achannel resource that is in the first channel resource set and that isindicated by the channel indication information. The first sending unit113 is configured to send UCI to the access network device on thechannel resource.

The first processing unit 112 in this embodiment of the presentinvention may be implemented by a processor.

In this embodiment of the present invention, the access network devicesends configuration information of the at least two channel resourcesets to the terminal device, where each channel resource set includes atleast two channel resources. This is equivalent to that all channelresources allocated by the access network device to the terminal deviceare grouped, and each group is equivalent to one channel resource set.The terminal device first determines the first channel resource set ofthe multiple channel resource sets, and then determines the channelresource in the first channel resource set according to the channelindication information. Different channel resources may be determined atdifferent times in a subframe according to same channel indicationinformation, while in the prior art, only one channel resource can bedetermined at different times in a subframe according to same channelindication information. As a quantity of channel resources increasescontinuously, a quantity of bits that need to be added to the channelindication information in this embodiment of the present invention isless than that in the prior art, reducing consumption of downlinkchannel resources by the channel indication information in a deliveryprocess.

Based on the foregoing embodiment, the first processing unit 112 isfurther configured to determine a type of the UCI. The first processingunit 112 is specifically configured to determine the channel resourceset that is of the N channel resource sets and that matches the type ofthe UCI as the first channel resource set.

The type of the UCI includes a first type and a second type, and N=2. Afirst type of UCI includes CSI and HARQ-ACK information, and a channelresource included in one of the N channel resource sets is used to sendthe first type of UCI. A second type of UCI includes HARQ-ACKinformation but not CSI, and a channel resource included in the other ofthe N channel resource sets is used to send the second type of UCI.

The first processing unit 112 is further configured to determine a sizeof the UCI. The first processing unit 112 is specifically configured todetermine the channel resource set that is of the N channel resourcesets and that matches the size K of the UCI as the first channelresource set.

The first processing unit 112 is specifically configured to: determine acapacity range corresponding to each of the N channel resource sets; anddetermine a channel resource set of the N channel resource sets as thefirst channel resource set, so that the size K of the UCI meetsR_(min)≤K≤R_(max), where a capacity range of the channel resource set is[R_(min), R_(max)], R_(min) is a minimum value of a capacity of thechannel resource set, and R_(max) is a maximum value of the capacity ofthe channel resource set.

Quantities of channel resources included in the N channel resource setsare the same.

At least one of the N channel resource sets includes at least twochannel resources having different formats.

Alternatively, at least one of the N channel resource sets includes atleast two channel resources having a same format but different channelcapacities.

The first receiving unit 111 is further configured to receiveconfiguration information of the N channel resource sets from the accessnetwork device by using higher layer signaling, where configurationinformation of the N channel resource sets corresponding to thedifferent terminal devices is different.

The first processing unit 112 in this embodiment of the presentinvention may be implemented by a processor.

The terminal device provided in this embodiment of the present inventionmay be specifically configured to perform the method embodiment providedin FIG. 1. Specific functions are not described herein again.

This embodiment of the present invention specifically provides a methodfor determining, by the terminal device according to the type or thesize of the UCI, the channel resource set matching the type or the sizeof the UCI of the multiple channel resource sets as the first channelresource set.

FIG. 12 is a structural diagram of an access network device according toan embodiment of the present invention. The access network deviceprovided in this embodiment of the present invention may perform theprocessing procedure provided in the embodiment of the uplink controlinformation sending method. As shown in FIG. 12, the access networkdevice 120 includes a second sending unit 121, a second processing unit122, and a second receiving unit 123. The second sending unit 121 isconfigured to send channel indication information to a terminal deviceon a physical control channel. The second processing unit 122 isconfigured to preconfigure N channel resource sets for the terminaldevice, so that the terminal device determines a channel resource set ofthe N channel resource sets as a first channel resource set, anddetermines a channel resource that is in the first channel resource setand that is indicated by the channel indication information, where N isa positive integer greater than or equal to 2, and each of the N channelresource sets includes at least two channel resources. The secondreceiving unit 123 is configured to receive UCI sent by the terminaldevice on the channel resource.

The second processing unit 122 in this embodiment of the presentinvention may be implemented by a processor.

In this embodiment of the present invention, the access network devicesends configuration information of the at least two channel resourcesets to the terminal device, where each channel resource set includes atleast two channel resources. This is equivalent to that all channelresources allocated by the access network device to the terminal deviceare grouped, and each group is equivalent to one channel resource set.The terminal device first determines the first channel resource set ofthe multiple channel resource sets, and then determines the channelresource in the first channel resource set according to the channelindication information. Different channel resources may be determined atdifferent times in a subframe according to same channel indicationinformation, while in the prior art, only one channel resource can bedetermined at different times in a subframe according to same channelindication information. As a quantity of channel resources increasescontinuously, a quantity of bits that need to be added to the channelindication information in this embodiment of the present invention isless than that in the prior art, reducing consumption of downlinkchannel resources by the channel indication information in a deliveryprocess.

Based on the foregoing embodiment, quantities of channel resourcesincluded in the N channel resource sets are the same.

At least one of the N channel resource sets includes at least twochannel resources having different formats.

Alternatively, at least one of the N channel resource sets includes atleast two channel resources having a same format but different channelcapacities.

The second sending unit 121 is further configured to send configurationinformation of the N channel resource sets to the terminal device byusing higher layer signaling, where configuration information of the Nchannel resource sets corresponding to the different terminal devices isdifferent.

The access network device provided in this embodiment of the presentinvention may be specifically configured to perform the methodembodiment provided in FIG. 4. Specific functions are not describedherein again.

This embodiment of the present invention specifically provides a methodfor determining, by the terminal device according to the type or thesize of the UCI, the channel resource set matching the type or the sizeof the UCI of the multiple channel resource sets as the first channelresource set.

FIG. 13 is a structural diagram of a terminal device according toanother embodiment of the present invention. The terminal deviceprovided in this embodiment of the present invention may perform theprocessing procedure provided in the embodiment of the uplink controlinformation sending method. As shown in FIG. 13, the terminal device 130includes a third receiving unit 131, a third processing unit 132, and athird sending unit 133. The third receiving unit 131 is configured toreceive channel indication information from an access network device ona physical control channel. The third processing unit 132 is configuredto: determine a first channel resource of N channel resources accordingto the channel indication information, where N is a positive integergreater than or equal to 2, and the N channel resources arepreconfigured by the access network device for the terminal device; andincrease or decrease the first channel resource to obtain a secondchannel resource. The third sending unit 133 is configured to send UCIto the access network device on the second channel resource.

The third processing unit 132 in this embodiment of the presentinvention may be implemented by a processor.

In this embodiment of the present invention, one of the at least twochannel resources is determined as the first channel resource by usingthe channel indication information; the first channel resource isincreased or decreased according to capacity information correspondingto the first channel resource and the size of the UCI generated by theterminal device, to obtain the second channel resource; and the terminaldevice sends the UCI to the access network device on the second channelresource, so that a capacity corresponding to the second channelresource matches the size of the UCI. That is, when the first channelresource is greater than the size of the UCI, the first channel resourceis decreased to increase utilization of the uplink channel; when thefirst channel resource is less than the size of the UCI, the firstchannel resource is increased to prevent discarding of UCI bits.

Based on the foregoing embodiment, the N channel resources correspond todifferent channel capacities. The third processing unit 132 is furtherconfigured to determine a size of the UCI. The third processing unit 132is specifically configured to: if a channel capacity corresponding tothe first channel resource is greater than the size of the UCI, decreasethe first channel resource to obtain the second channel resource; or ifa channel capacity corresponding to the first channel resource is lessthan the size of the UCI, increase the first channel resource to obtainthe second channel resource.

The third processing unit 132 is specifically configured to decrease thechannel capacity of the first channel resource by k basic channelelements to obtain the second channel resource, so that the size R_(a)of the UCI meets R_(b)−(k+1)R₀<R_(a)≤R_(b)−kR₀, where R_(b) indicatesthe channel capacity of the first channel resource, and R₀ indicates asize of the basic channel element.

A subcarrier whose frequency is the highest in the k basic channelelements is adjacent to a subcarrier whose frequency is the lowest inthe first channel resource; or a subcarrier whose frequency is thelowest in the k basic channel elements is adjacent to a subcarrier whosefrequency is the highest in the first channel resource.

The third processing unit 132 is specifically configured to increase thechannel capacity of the first channel resource by k basic channelelements, so that the size R_(a) of the UCI meetsR_(b)+(k−1)R₀<R_(a)≤R_(b)+kR₀, where R_(b) indicates the channelcapacity of the first channel resource, and R₀ indicates a size of thebasic channel element.

A subcarrier whose frequency is the highest in the k basic channelelements is adjacent to a subcarrier whose frequency is the lowest inthe first channel resource; or a subcarrier whose frequency is thelowest in the k basic channel elements is adjacent to a subcarrier whosefrequency is the highest in the first channel resource.

The UCI includes at least one of HARQ-ACK information of the terminaldevice for received downlink data or CSI generated by the terminaldevice.

The third receiving unit 131 is further configured to receiveconfiguration information of the N channel resources from the accessnetwork device by using higher layer signaling, where configurationinformation of the N channel resource sets corresponding to thedifferent terminal devices is different.

The third processing unit 132 in this embodiment of the presentinvention may be implemented by a processor.

The terminal device provided in this embodiment of the present inventionmay be specifically configured to perform the method embodiment providedin FIG. 5. Specific functions are not described herein again.

In this embodiment of the present invention, the first channel resourceis increased or decreased in a unit of a basic channel element, toobtain the second channel resource, so that the capacity correspondingto the second channel resource matches the size of the UCI. That is,when the first channel resource is greater than the size of the UCI, thefirst channel resource is decreased to increase utilization of theuplink channel; when the first channel resource is less than the size ofthe UCI, the first channel resource is increased to prevent discardingof UCI bits.

FIG. 14 is a structural diagram of an access network device according toanother embodiment of the present invention. The access network deviceprovided in this embodiment of the present invention may perform theprocessing procedure provided in the embodiment of the uplink controlinformation sending method. As shown in FIG. 14, the access networkdevice 140 includes a fourth sending unit 141 and a fourth receivingunit 142. The fourth sending unit 141 is configured to send channelindication information to a terminal device on a physical controlchannel, so that the terminal device determines a first channel resourceof N channel resources according to the channel indication information,and increases or decreases the first channel resource to obtain a secondchannel resource, where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to2, and the N channel resources are preconfigured by the access networkdevice for the terminal device. The fourth receiving unit 142 isconfigured to receive UCI sent by the terminal device on the secondchannel resource.

In this embodiment of the present invention, the first channel resourceis increased or decreased in a unit of a basic channel element, toobtain the second channel resource, so that the capacity correspondingto the second channel resource matches the size of the UCI. That is,when the first channel resource is greater than the size of the UCI, thefirst channel resource is decreased to increase utilization of theuplink channel; when the first channel resource is less than the size ofthe UCI, the first channel resource is increased to prevent discardingof UCI bits.

Based on the foregoing embodiment, the UCI includes at least one ofHARQ-ACK information of the terminal device for received downlink dataor CSI generated by the terminal device.

The UCI further includes SR.

The fourth sending unit 141 is further configured to send configurationinformation of the N channel resources to the terminal device by usinghigher layer signaling, where configuration information of the N channelresource sets corresponding to the different terminal devices isdifferent.

The access network device provided in this embodiment of the presentinvention may be specifically configured to perform the methodembodiment provided in FIG. 10. Specific functions are not describedherein again.

In this embodiment of the present invention, one of the at least twochannel resources is determined as the first channel resource by usingthe channel indication information; the first channel resource isincreased or decreased according to capacity information correspondingto the first channel resource and the size of the UCI generated by theterminal device, to obtain the second channel resource; and the terminaldevice sends the UCI to the access network device on the second channelresource, so that a capacity corresponding to the second channelresource matches the size of the UCI. That is, when the first channelresource is greater than the size of the UCI, the first channel resourceis decreased to increase utilization of the uplink channel; when thefirst channel resource is less than the size of the UCI, the firstchannel resource is increased to prevent discarding of UCI bits.

FIG. 15 is a structural diagram of an uplink control information sendingand receiving system according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. The uplink control information sending and receiving systemprovided in this embodiment of the present invention may perform theprocessing procedures provided in the embodiments of the uplink controlinformation sending method and the uplink control information receivingmethod. As shown in FIG. 15, the uplink control information sending andreceiving system 150 includes the terminal device 110 and the accessnetwork device 120 in the foregoing embodiments.

The uplink control information sending and receiving system provided inthis embodiment of the present invention may perform the processingprocedures provided in the embodiments of the uplink control informationsending method and the uplink control information receiving method.

FIG. 16 is a structural diagram of an uplink control information sendingand receiving system according to another embodiment of the presentinvention. The uplink control information sending and receiving systemprovided in this embodiment of the present invention may perform theprocessing procedures provided in the embodiments of the uplink controlinformation sending method and the uplink control information receivingmethod. As shown in FIG. 16, the uplink control information sending andreceiving system 160 includes the terminal device 130 and the accessnetwork device 140 in the foregoing embodiments.

The uplink control information sending and receiving system provided inthis embodiment of the present invention may perform the processingprocedures provided in the embodiments of the uplink control informationsending method and the uplink control information receiving method.

In conclusion, the embodiments of the present invention provide themethod for determining, by the terminal device according to the type orthe size of the UCI, the channel resource set matching the type or thesize of the UCI of the multiple channel resource sets as the firstchannel resource set, and specifically provide the method fordetermining, by the terminal device according to the type or the size ofthe UCI, a channel resource set matching the type or the size of the UCIof multiple channel resource sets as the first channel resource set: Oneof the at least two channel resources is determined as the first channelresource by using the channel indication information; the first channelresource is increased or decreased according to capacity informationcorresponding to the first channel resource and the size of the UCIgenerated by the terminal device, to obtain the second channel resource;and the terminal device sends the UCI to the access network device onthe second channel resource, so that a capacity corresponding to thesecond channel resource matches the size of the UCI. That is, when thefirst channel resource is greater than the size of the UCI, the firstchannel resource is decreased to increase utilization of the uplinkchannel; when the first channel resource is less than the size of UCI,the first channel resource is increased to prevent discarding of UCIbits.

In the several embodiments provided in the present invention, it shouldbe understood that the disclosed apparatus and method may be implementedin other manners. For example, the described apparatus embodiment ismerely an example. For example, the unit division is merely logicalfunction division and may be other division in actual implementation.For example, a plurality of units or components may be combined orintegrated into another system, or some features may be omitted or notperformed. In addition, the displayed or discussed mutual couplings ordirect couplings or communication connections may be indirect couplingsor communication connections between some interfaces, apparatuses, andunits, or may be implemented in electronic, mechanical, or other forms.

The units described as separate parts may or may not be physicallyseparate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units,may be located in one position, or may be distributed on a plurality ofnetwork units. Some or all of the units may be selected according toactual requirements to achieve the objectives of the solutions of theembodiments.

In addition, functional units in the embodiments of the presentinvention may be integrated into one processing unit, or each of theunits may exist alone physically, or two or more units may be integratedinto one unit. The integrated unit may be implemented in a form ofhardware, or may be implemented in a form of hardware in addition to asoftware functional unit.

When the foregoing integrated unit is implemented in a form of asoftware functional unit, the integrated unit may be stored in acomputer-readable storage medium. The software functional unit is storedin a storage medium and includes several instructions for instructing acomputer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, a networkdevice, or the like) or a processor to perform some of the steps of themethods described in the embodiments of the present invention. Theforegoing storage medium includes any medium that can store programcode, such as a USB flash drive, a removable hard disk, a read-onlymemory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or anoptical disc.

It may be clearly understood by persons skilled in the art that, for thepurpose of convenient and brief description, division of the foregoingfunction modules is taken as an example for illustration. In actualapplication, the foregoing functions can be allocated to differentfunction modules and implemented according to a requirement, that is, aninner structure of an apparatus is divided into different functionmodules to implement all or part of the functions described above. For adetailed working process of the foregoing apparatus, refer to acorresponding process in the foregoing method embodiments, and detailsare not described herein again.

Finally, it should be noted that the foregoing embodiments are merelyintended to describe the technical solutions of the present invention,but not to limit the present invention. Although the present inventionis described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments,persons of ordinary skill in the art should understand that they maystill make modifications to the technical solutions described in theforegoing embodiments or make equivalent replacements to some or alltechnical features thereof, without departing from the scope of thetechnical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A non-transitory computer readable storage mediumcomprising instructions which, when executed by one or more processors,cause a terminal device to perform operations comprising: receivingconfiguration information from an access network device, wherein theconfiguration information indicates N channel resource sets, and N is apositive integer greater than or equal to 2; receiving channelindication information from the access network device on a physicalcontrol channel; determining a channel resource set of the N channelresource sets as a first channel resource set; determining a firstchannel resource from the first channel resource set according to thechannel indication information; and sending uplink control information(UCI) to the access network device on the first channel resource.
 2. Thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium according to claim 1,wherein the operations further comprise: determining the channelresource set of the N channel resource sets as the first channelresource set according to a quantity of bits of the UCI.
 3. Thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium according to claim 2,wherein the first channel resource set is the i^(th) channel resourceset in the N channel resource sets, wherein R_(a) meetsR_(i−1)<R_(a)≤R_(i), 2≤i≤4, wherein R_(a) is equal to the quantity ofbits of the UCI, and wherein R is a channel capacity corresponding toeach channel resource in the i^(th) channel resource set.
 4. Thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium according to claim 1,wherein quantities of channel resources comprised in each channelresource set of the N channel resource sets are the same.
 5. Thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium according to claim 1,wherein at least one channel resource set of the N channel resource setscomprises at least two channel resources with different physical uplinkcontrol channel (PUCCH) formats.
 6. The non-transitory computer readablestorage medium according to claim 1, wherein the UCI comprises channelstate information (CSI).
 7. The non-transitory computer readable storagemedium according to claim 1, wherein the UCI is CSI or hybrid automaticrepeat request-acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) information.
 8. Thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium according to claim 1,wherein at least one of the N channel resource sets comprises at leasttwo channel resources.
 9. The non-transitory computer readable storagemedium according to claim 1, wherein the UCI comprises CSI and HARQ-ACKinformation.
 10. A non-transitory computer readable storage mediumcomprising instructions which, when executed by one or more processors,cause an access network device to perform operations comprising: sendingconfiguration information to a terminal device, wherein theconfiguration information indicates N channel resource sets, and N is apositive integer greater than or equal to 2; sending channel indicationinformation to the terminal device on a physical control channel,wherein the channel indication information indicates a first channelresource in a first channel resource set, wherein the first channelresource set is one channel resource set in the N channel resource sets;and receiving uplink control information (UCI) from the terminal deviceon the first channel resource.
 11. The non-transitory computer readablestorage medium according to claim 10, wherein the first channel resourceset is in accordance with a quantity of bits of the UCI.
 12. Thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium according to claim 11,wherein the first channel resource set is the i^(th) channel resourceset in the N channel resource sets, wherein R_(a) meetsR_(i−1)<R_(a)≤R_(i), 2≤i≤4, wherein Ra is equal to the quantity of bitsof the UCI, and wherein R_(i) is a channel capacity corresponding toeach channel resource in the i^(th) channel resource set.
 13. Thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium according to claim 10,wherein quantities of channel resources comprised in each channelresource set of the N channel resource sets are the same.
 14. Thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium according to claim 10,wherein at least one channel resource set of the N channel resource setscomprises at least two channel resources with different physical uplinkcontrol channel (PUCCH) formats.
 15. The non-transitory computerreadable storage medium according to claim 10, wherein the UCI compriseschannel state information (CSI).
 16. The non-transitory computerreadable storage medium according to claim 10, wherein the UCI is CSI orhybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) information.17. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium according toclaim 10, wherein at least one of the N channel resource sets comprisesat least two channel resources.
 18. The non-transitory computer readablestorage medium according to claim 10, wherein the UCI comprises CSI andHARQ-ACK information.
 19. An apparatus, comprising: at least oneprocessor; and a non-transitory computer readable storage medium coupledwith the at least one processor and storing programming instructionswhich, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatusto: receive configuration information from an access network device,wherein the configuration information indicates N channel resource sets,and N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2; receive channelindication information from the access network device on a physicalcontrol channel; determine a channel resource set of the N channelresource sets as a first channel resource set; determine a first channelresource from the first channel resource set according to the channelindication information; and send uplink control information (UCI) to theaccess network device on the first channel resource.
 20. The apparatusaccording to claim 15, wherein the programing instructions which, whenexecuted by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to:determine the channel resource set of the N channel resource sets as thefirst channel resource set according to a quantity of bits of the UCI.21. The apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the first channelresource set is the i^(th) channel resource set in the N channelresource sets, wherein R_(a) meets R_(i−1) <R_(a)≤R_(i), 2≤i≤4, whereinR_(a) is equal to the quantity of bits of the UCI, and wherein R_(i) isa channel capacity corresponding to each channel resource in the i^(th)channel resource set.
 22. The apparatus according to claim 19, whereinquantities of channel resources comprised in each channel resource setof the N channel resource sets are the same.
 23. The apparatus accordingto claim 19, wherein at least one channel resource set of the N channelresource sets comprises at least two channel resources with differentphysical uplink control channel (PUCCH) formats.
 24. The apparatusaccording to claim 19, wherein the UCI comprises channel stateinformation (CSI).
 25. The apparatus according to claim 19, wherein theUCI is CSI or hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK)information.
 26. The apparatus according to claim 19, wherein at leastone of the N channel resource sets comprises at least two channelresources.
 27. The apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the UCIcomprises CSI and HARQ-ACK information.
 28. A communication systemcomprising a terminal device and an access network device, wherein thecommunication system performs operations comprising: sending, by theaccess network device and to the terminal device, configurationinformation to the terminal device, wherein the configurationinformation indicates N channel resource sets, and N is a positiveinteger greater than or equal to 2; receiving, by the terminal device,the configuration information from the access network device; sending,by the access network device, channel indication information on aphysical control channel; receiving, by the terminal device and from theaccess network device, the channel indication information on thephysical control channel; determining, by the terminal device, a channelresource set of the N channel resource sets as a first channel resourceset; determining, by the terminal device, a first channel resource fromthe first channel resource set according to the channel indicationinformation; sending, by the terminal device and to the access networkdevice, uplink control information (UCI) on the first channel resource;and receiving, by the access network device and from the terminaldevice, the UCI on the first channel resource.
 29. The communicationsystem according to claim 28, wherein the first channel resource set isin accordance with a quantity of bits of the UCI.
 30. The communicationsystem according to claim 23, wherein the first channel resource set isthe i^(th) channel resource set in the N channel resource sets, whereinR_(a) meets R_(i−1)<R_(a)≤R_(i), 2≤i ≤4, wherein R_(a) is equal to thequantity of bits of the UCI, and wherein R_(i) is a channel capacitycorresponding to each channel resource in the i^(th) channel resourceset.
 31. The communication system according to claim 28, whereinquantities of channel resources comprised in each channel resource setof the N channel resource sets are the same.
 32. The communicationsystem according to claim 28, wherein at least one channel resource setof the N channel resource sets comprises at least two channel resourceswith different physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) formats.
 33. Thecommunication system according to claim 28, wherein the UCI compriseschannel state information (CSI).
 34. The communication system accordingto claim 28, wherein the UCI is CSI or hybrid automatic repeatrequest-acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) information.
 35. The communicationsystem according to claim 28, wherein at least one of the N channelresource sets comprises at least two channel resources.
 36. Thecommunication system according to claim 28, wherein the UCI comprisesCSI and HARQ-ACK information.